7. The Write Stuff with Catharine DuBois

In Episode 7 of May the Record Reflect, we’re joined by Brooklyn Law School Assistant Professor of Legal Writing Catharine DuBois. Catharine serves as Program Director for NITA’s courses in persuasive writing, including an online version that starts next week. Among the topics she discusses with host Marsi Buckmelter are the importance of prewriting activities, organizing your document on the macro and micro levels, getting past writer’s block, creativity and the editorial process, and how to proofread your own work.  Topics3:09     What lawyers typically want to improve in their writing3:53     A good timeline for your writing project5:55     A crucial step that lawyers often omit6:45     Outlining and writer’s block8:28     Considerations about a writer’s audience9:11     “What is the point?”10:10   The importance of prewriting document organization 11:50  “The test” 13:36    Developing your writing muscle15:55   Overcoming writer’s block18:40   Shutting down your inner critic and perfectionism22:56  Why it’s ok that your first draft stinks24:40  Two tips to come back to when you’re stuck28:26  Words for listening versus words for reading29:20  Reading your drafts aloud as an editing tool31:12   The challenge of proofreading34:45  Whether to draft by hand or by keyboard36:43  Catharine’s current writing project40:44  “Signature softball” question Quote“Nobody is writing a good first draft, and so what happens with my students and with my practitioners is, they get caught up in this idea that ‘I need to put into my reader’s ear the first draft, and if I can’t do that, I’m not a good writer.’ And what I encourage all of them to do is embrace what I was saying before: you’re going to write a writer’s-based first draft. It is for you, you are figuring it out, you are getting ideas on the page, and every single minute you spend doing that is useful to what you need to create in what we call the ‘shadow preparation’ for what you’re writing. Use it, make use of it, but reorganize it so it works for your final draft, which is for your reader, and be willing to edit it down to nothing if you need.” (Catharine DuBois)Recommended ResourcesCatharine DuBois—Brooklyn Law SchoolWriting Persuasive Briefs online courseThe Artist’s Way, by Julia CameronJulia Cameron Wants You to Do Your Morning Pages (New York Times)Bird by Bird, by Anne LamottAnne Lamott’s Sh!tty First Drafts essay